War of the Roses: Redux Edition

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Caesar
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War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by Caesar » 08 Feb 2022, 07:15

Pressure

Devin stood at his locker room, scrolling through the timeline on one of his social media accounts. A lot of people were tagging him in posts about him being named the conference freshman of the week. He ignored most of it, though. The coaching staff had already acknowledged the accolade as did his teammates and that was all he needed in terms of praise.

Besides, while he would never say it aloud, popping James Madison in the mouth wasn’t anything to brag to the world about. They should’ve beaten them as bad as they had. Anything less would’ve been underwhelming.

Shaking his head as he saw a compilation of his biggest plays from the game, he muted the words “of the week” to hide all the posts from his feed before shoving his phone into his pocket. He bent down and tossed his practice gear into a nearby laundry basket for the team managers to take care of then shoved the rest of his things into a duffel bag.

He had a lot of studying to do and wasn’t looking forward to it, but that’s what he got from going to a Southern Ivy.

“Devin, they want you to talk to the media,” one of the graduate assistants said as he walked by, pointing in the direction of the hallway outside of the locker room.

Devin looked around, confused, then pointed to himself. “You mean me?”

“You’re the only Devin on the team. Yes, you. Jay’s out there with them right now. It’s just WDSU, WWL and Fox 8,” he said referring to one of the SIDs. “They’re just finishing up with Tucker so you might want to get out there.”

Devin nodded, feeling his hands begin to sweat as he thought about staring down multiple cameras. His only previous experience with “talking” to the media had been when he announced that he was going to be committing to TCU. By the time he’d changed his mind and switched to Tulane, it seemed like everyone had forgotten he existed.

He got up and headed out of the locker room, instantly coming face to face with the bright light of the cameras pointed at Tucker as he was answering a question. The tight end wasn’t the first name on the depth chart, having lost his spot to Sam in the spring but as a senior, he was one of the leaders on the team.

And his frat boy look sold well with certain demographics of donors living in Lakeview. Even with his limited experience in the area, Devin knew that wasn’t a coincidence. The school needed to remind them that there was still somewhat of a difference between LSU’s and Tulane’s football programs as that line blurred more and more every season.

Tucker wrapped up his answer, nodded his thanks to the reporters and slipped out of the semi-circle. He patted Devin on the shoulder as he passed.

Jay beckoned for Devin to take Tucker’s place. He had to take a few calming breaths before he squeezed between the nearest camera and the wall. Jay pulled a folded piece of white paper out of his pocket and held it in front of Devin’s face.

Devin looked at him, confused.

“Y’all got it?” the SID asked the cameramen. The three of them held a thumb up, and Jay put the paper back in his pocket. “D-e-v-i-n K-i-n-g. Alright, go ahead.”

One of the reporters in a Fox 8 shirt held his phone closer to Devin. “How you doing, Devin? You’ve had quite the rise over the last couple of years going back to high school. Then freshman player of the week honors for your performance against James Madison, what’s the secret?”

Devin looked over at Jay who had turned his attention to his phone. Gulping down a bit of spit, he shrugged. “I- I, uh, just do what the coaches tell me to do. And I, uh, try not to—you know—forget stuff when I’m out on the field?”

“Man, you’re some nervous! This is the easy stuff,” one of the other two reporters laughed, doing nothing to make Devin feel at ease. “What’s the atmosphere like in the locker room from your point of view? This is a team that has national championship aspirations right now and things seem to be going in that direction.”

“Well, we’re just, uh, taking it one game at a time. We go—got Texas A&M next and they’re a good team, too.” Devin paused and wiped his hands on his shirt then brushed his hand across his forehead feeling as if he was sweating bullets. “There’s, uh, still a lot of the season left so we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”

“You’re a young guy on this team. How have you integrated into things so quickly?” the last of the three reporters asked.

“A lot of leaders on the team. Take you under their wings, you know? I’m, I’m lucky because there’s a lot of that in DB room especially.”

“One more,” Jay said, finally looking up from his phone.

The second reporter was the first to open his mouth. “You went to high school with Caesar Jenkins and you’re his roommate. Any thoughts on his situation?”

“No?” Devin said, glancing over at Jay who’d taken a step toward him. “I, uh, don’t really hav- have anything to say about that.”

“Thanks, guys,” Jay said, ushering Devin out of the semi-circle. He turned to the reporter and held his hands out. “C’mon, man. Really?”

“Just doing my job, Jay. You know that.”

Devin left them to it as he beat a hasty retreat back into the locker room, happy to not have the spotlight on him anymore – literally.

-*****-
Kaley sat at her desk, staring at the food in front of her but also glancing at Caesar out of the corner of her eye every so often. He sat on her bed with his gaze fixated on the window.

He’d become increasingly distant as the days wore on since he was suspended and there seemed to be no resolution in sight on his status with the team. He was supposed to be meeting with the NCAA but that had been pushed back, likely prolonging the time that he’d be barred from playing while everything was sorted out.

If he ever played again as he framed it to her.

She tapped the unopened box of food on the edge of the desk with a pair of chopsticks. “Are you going to eat that?”

“I’d be eating it if I wanted to eat it, don’t you think?” he asked, still staring out of the window.

“It was just a question. You don’t have to be a dickhead about it, Caesar.” She leaned back in the chair, setting the chopsticks down and crossing her arms over her chest. “Why don’t we go somewhere? It’s better than being cooped up in here all the time. Some sunlight might do you some good to make you feel better.”

He held his hand up toward the window and moved it around in the bits of sun that were coming through the opened blinds. “Nope. Still feel like shit. Your food’s going to get cold if you don’t shut the fuck up and start eating.”

“Are you—You know what? Fuck you, Caesar. How about that?”

“Fuck you, too,” he said, shrugging.

“That’s rich considering you aren’t even doing that lately, huh?”

“Sounds like a personal problem. We’re on a college campus filled with fucking dudes and there’s a different college literally across the street. You can sort that out on your own if it’s so much of a fucking problem.”

“Maybe I should,” she said angrily.

“Maybe you should,” he said, shrugging. “Make sure you take your birth control so you don’t get knocked up by some random dude and ruin that lawyer dream.”

She sighed and rubbed at her temples with her fingers. Picking up the chopsticks, she poked at the food at few times before putting them back down.

“Your mom called me,” she said, trying her best to soften her tone.

He snorted out a laugh. “Of course, she fucking did.”

“She’s worried about you, and you aren’t answering her calls so what did you expect her to do?”

“Did she tell you what she told me?”

Kaley nodded. “Yeah.”

“Alright then.”

“You can’t be mad at her forever. She’s your mother. I understand finding out that you have a brother like this is a shitty situation, but c’mon, Caesar. Is it really the worst thing that could’ve happened to you? Like be honest with yourself. Maybe you should go to Baton Rouge and talk to him and see where that goes.”

He turned his body, so he was facing her. “That’s the dumbest shit I’ve heard in a long time. Thanks for that.”

“I’m just trying to give you a suggestion. He is going through the same thing that you are right now, right? They suspended him, too. And he found out about you the same way you found out about him. I’ll go with you if you want.”

He sighed then pushed up from the bed, shoving his feet into his shoes.

She stood up as well, blocking his way out of the room. “Caesar, you don’t have to leave. It’s been three weeks now. You have to figure out what you’re going to do next because moping around all the time isn’t healthy. I’m worried about you. You don’t eat. You barely talk to me. You just sit in silence all the time.”

“I don’t know why we have to keep going through this fucking shit, Kaley! Just fucking drop it!” he shouted. “I don’t know why you have to be such nagging fucking bitch about this. I don’t need your worry or your damn pity.”

“Nagging bitch? You’re mad at me because I fucking care? Jesus Christ. Fine, fuck off to wherever you were going then,” she said, running her hand through her hair as she sat back down.

“Fuck this shit,” he said under his breath before grabbing his stuff off the night stand and heading for the door. He glanced over his shoulder at Kaley, but she’d gone back to picking at her food with the chopsticks in her hand.

Gia had to jump out of the way as he barreled through the door, slamming it behind him.

“Everything okay?” she asked as she dropped her hand awkwardly, having been moments away from opening the door.

He only sucked his teeth, shook his head and started down the hallway toward the elevators.

She jogged behind him to keep up with his long stride. “Hey, I know we aren’t really all that close or that we know each other all that well, but I do think of you as a friend. You can talk to me about things and I’ll listen and not say anything. I’m really good at that.”

“That’s what you offer your sugar daddies? A therapist?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he jabbed the call button for the elevator. “Do they know that there are people who are trained to do that or is it because you’re naked while listening?”

“I’m just saying that it’s sometimes easier to talk about things with someone who isn’t as close to everything,” she said, largely ignoring Caesar’s insult. She shrugged. “It’s just an offer. I know that you and Kaley have been arguing a lot and this way you can vent to someone else so you can be nicer to her. Because she’s really trying, you know?”

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. He stepped into the car and pressed the button for the first floor without responding.

“You know how to find me if you change your mind,” she said before the doors closed.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, he switched it onto airplane mode in case anyone tried to get in touch with him.
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War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by Captain Canada » 08 Feb 2022, 14:01

The fact that Kaley hasn't just dumped his ass is wild to me, but solid update, Caesar.
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War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by Caesar » 20 Feb 2022, 10:49

Non-Existent

Erik tapped his fingers against his knee as he listened to the melding sounds of the clippers near his ear, the rap music coming from someone’s phone and the random discussions of the dozen or so people who’d piled into one of the guy’s apartments for an impromptu get-together.

His preferred choice of a haircut was simple, but that didn’t make him any less nervous about someone new to bring the clippers anywhere near his head – even if it was one of his teammate’s roommates who had been vouched for by others.

He scanned the room a few times and tried to listen for any signs of commotion outside, a habit from back home that he was struggling to break. A number of girls had paired off with his teammates in the ever-continuing race to latch on before any of them declared for the draft.

Even jersey chasers knew that a losing season only affected coaches, not players, and LSU was well on its way to a losing season. The loss to Vanderbilt had shaken their confidence to the core, but an ever-increasing number of injuries and players deciding to enter the transfer portal with each successive week had turned a 3-0 start into a 3-4 skid. It was hard to see where they’d get three wins out of their final five games to even become bowl eligible.

Erik’s suspension had thrown the secondary into particular turmoil. He’d been beating himself up about that for weeks, blaming himself for letting his team down.

The clippers clicked off and Jere, the man Erik had entrusted with how he’d look for the next three to four weeks, handed him a mirror that looked more like a piece of glass glued to one half of a bike handle.

After a few moments, Erik nodded and handed back the mirror. “Looks good. I’ll send you the money.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just let people know who shaped you up when you get back on the field.”

“That boy ain’t gettin' back out there now that he seen how trash we are. Surprised he ain’t already in the portal,” Drake Toomer, a junior receiver who’d been pressed into duty in a number of games that season because of injuries to other receivers despite recovering from a few himself, said.

Erik shook his head as he took the towel that had served as a makeshift cape off his shoulders and handed it to Jere. Hasan handed him a beer as soon as he stood up and it wasn’t much longer until he had a couple girls trying to get his attention as he walked over to one side of the room.

They were attractive enough, but he mostly ignored them as he sniffed the beer before taking a swig from the bottle.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he finally said.

“That boy loyal unlike that bitch ass nigga Jakeem,” Danzell Harper, a defensive end, said in reference to Jakeem Williams, one of the quarterbacks that LSU carried on its roster in the spring.

After losing his bid to be the starter to fifth-year senior Seth Walls, Jakeem entered the transfer portal. After the injuries to Seth and both of his backups, Tevin White and Terrance Nash, there was some speculation he’d take his name out of the portal and help the team.

Instead, he announced he’d be enrolling at Auburn and LSU was left with no other choice but to burn the redshirt of Austin Reeves – a guy no one ever thought would step on the field at Tiger Stadium, as a Tiger or an opponent.

It was safe to say there would be no love lost between LSU and Jakeem next season when the two teams squared off.

Hasan walked over to Erik as various other conversations sprung from talk of Jakeem.

“Yo, I ain’t want to ask you this when ain’t no witnesses around because we boys and all but you might be crazy on the low,” Hasan said.

Erik raised an eyebrow. “Unless you plan on moving out, which by all means do, I don’t think that’s going to save you so you could’ve asked whatever it is you’re about to ask anywhere.”

“You said Caesar ain’t your people.”

“That story came out two weeks ago, bruh. You’ve been holding that in this whole time?”

Hasan shrugged. “I ain’t tryin’ to be all up in your business, man. Just curiosity.”

“He’s not ‘my people.’ That wasn’t a lie. Same man made us both though,” Erik said, shrugging himself.

One of the girls looked up. “Oh, those Jenkins? Y’all filthy rich, huh?”

Erik shook his head, placing his hand on her back and gently pushing her away from him while shooing her away with his other hand. She sucked her teeth, but still walked away. The second girl opened her mouth to say something to him, but changed her mind.

“So why you ain’t just say that?” Hasan asked.

“I didn’t know that man until I was about 12 years old. Motherfucker came to a few games and tried to get me to go to Oklahoma State. That’s it. I only knew about Caesar because they started talking about him like the second coming as soon as he hit fucking puberty. What you want me to say? They’re them and I’m me.”

“But you knew Caesar was ya brother when we played y’all last year.”

Erik nodded.

“You tried to kill that bitch ass nigga ‘bout eight times that night. Coach was tryin’ to get you thrown out the game on some shit.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say. This game ain’t for nice men. Maybe he should’ve laid off a couple of them quinoa and avocado sandwiches when he was growing up and he wouldn’t be so fucking soft.”

“My nigga,” Hasan said, laughing and reaching his hand out to dap up Erik. “I know yo ass grew up poor as fuck because ain’t nobody eatin’ qunoa and avocado together on bread.”

Erik shrugged. “Only sandwiches I was eating were Dollar Store baloney and untoasted bread.”

“Black sheep for real out here!” Hasan laughed again.

“Hey,” the girl said to Erik, finally jumping into the conversation. “You want to go find somewhere quieter?”

Hasan threw his hands up and walked off.

Downing the rest of the beer, Erik nodded. “Yeah, what’s your name?”

The two of them headed toward the rooms at the back of the apartment even though she didn’t answer his question.

-*****-
“It’s not negotiable. The cut is 15 percent. If you think you can get a better split somewhere else, then go fucking get it somewhere else. Dane. Dane, stop and listen to me. Remember who got that four-year extension for you? The Colts wanted to ship your ass back to fucking Poughkeepsie. So, sign the damn endorsement deal and give me my fucking 15. You want to keep those judges off your ass about the child support, right? That’s what I thought. A few million goes a long way to keeping your baby mamas in Louis and Fenty. Good. Tell me when I need to be in Indy.”

Deion Jenkins hung up the call and pulled the earpods from his ears, shaking his head. He reached forward to tap the driver of the car he was in on the shoulder.

“Just pull up in front the building,” he said, pointing to the entrance.

The driver nodded and did as he was told.

Deion stifled a rare yawn as he checked the texts on his phones. It was a quarter to midnight and he expected to get in another hour or two of work before finally turning in. Then he’d sleep until 6 a.m., on the dot, and get back at it.

The car rolled to a stop in front of a swanky apartment complex on the northside of Chicago. Sleeping in hotels never gave him a good night’s sleep so as his business expanded, he began renting penthouse apartments in various cities. The combined monthly rent could buy someone a fairly nice house in most zip codes, but he’d learned that it was worth it.

He pulled up the car service’s app as he hopped out of the car and sent and extra tip to the driver

“Good evening, Mr. Jenkins,” the doorman said, looking up from a small monitor behind the desk.

Deion was distracted by his phone vibrating in his pocket with an incoming call. He saw the 619 area code on the caller ID and sighed before hitting accept.

“$35 million a year or fuck off, Hilton,” he barked into the phone as soon as the line connected.

“C’mon,” Hilton Barksdale, the general manager of the San Diego Toreadors, said on the other end. “You have a minute to talk?”

“No, it’s your fucking franchise left tackle. $35 million. I’ll let you explain to San Diego that three years after getting a team back their young quarterback is retiring because he got Theismann’d since you didn’t want to pay what you owe.”

Deion hung up the phone as he stepped onto the elevator to head up to his apartment. He was surprised to find his wife standing in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine in her hand.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he emptied his pockets on an end table by the elevator.

She didn’t answer him, instead only swirling the wine in the glass and staring at the fire.

“I hope you didn’t come all the way up here just to look at a fireplace because we have one of those at home,” he said as he walked to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of whiskey before giving Mr. Barksdale a call back to talk him into the number his client wanted.

“Have you fixed the shit you caused for Caesar?” Candice asked over her shoulder.

He scoffed. “The shit I caused? I’m not the one who pointed the NCAA in his direction.”

“No, the mother of your bastard did when she told them that you were trying to get him to go to Oklahoma State, too. I told you years ago that your inability to not think with your fucking dick would come back to bite you eventually and you dragged my son into it.”

“He’s my son, too, Candice. Both of them,” he said, sitting down on a sofa and kicking his feet up on the coffee table. “And that’s rich coming from you. You think I don’t know about Isaac or Trenton or Eli?”

“I don’t have fucking kids from them! And I didn’t cheat until you did!”

“Two wrongs don’t make a right. We both made our mistakes, but you’re a mother. You know that a boy needs his father and I’ll be damned if you make me turn my back on one of my sons to favor the other one.”

She turned around, downing the wine in one gulp. “Oh, fuck you, Deion. You aren’t some super dad, playing teeball with your boys and teaching them how to tie a tie. You weren’t there for either of them. Spare me that bullshit.” She gestured around them at the apartment. “This is all you’ve ever cared about. There is no difference between having $10 million or $500 million, but you keep chasing it. And Caesar and the other one are just another way for you to chase a damn dollar. I don’t know about the bastard, but Caesar’s fucked up. And you know what? That’s your fucking fault.”

“Or,” he said, taking a sip from the glass in his hand and swishing the alcohol around in his mouth for a moment. “It’s bad genetics from you. Or bad parenting from you since you said that I wasn’t there to do any of that.”

“You’re such an insufferable piece of shit. I don’t know why I fucking married you.”

He only shrugged.

She grabbed her purse and started for the elevator but turned back, pointing her finger at her husband. “You better fix this shit with the NCAA. If you wouldn’t have been trying to puppeteer Caesar’s life, we wouldn’t be here and he wouldn’t know about that boy. But whether you fix it or not, I’ll never forgive you for what you did to my son.”

“He’ll get over it and you will, too,” Deion said, standing up from the sofa and walking back into the kitchen.

Shaking her head, Candice jabbed the call button for the elevator.
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War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by Captain Canada » 20 Feb 2022, 13:28

Candice was out here throwing ass around? This whole family needs to be thrown out :drose:
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War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by Caesar » 05 Mar 2022, 21:48

Tipping Point

“Fuck it’s cold,” Carla said as a gust of wind whipped around her and Devin.

The two of them stood in the parking lot outside of her residence hall as the night set over the city with a strong front threatening to roll through over the weekend. Gumbo weather for Louisianans, but the type of weather that could cause football games to be postponed if it got out of hand.

And as Devin glanced up at the clouds overhead, it seemed like “out of hand” was going to be an appropriate way to describe things come Saturday.

He kissed her on top of her head as they separated and pointed to her car that was parked next to his. “Better be ready to go find you a spot on the neutral ground for that if it rains too hard this weekend.”

“I’m not too worried. I’ve been wanting to get a new one anyway. Hopefully, it floats out into the lake and I can get the insurance company to pay for it,” she said, shrugging as she wrapped her arms around herself. “Besides, if it’s so bad that the city lets people park on the neutral ground, I’m not coming outside to move that shit. That’s what boyfriends are for.”

“Husbands. Getting swept away by flood water isn’t in the boyfriend package.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Yeah, yeah. Text me when you get back Uptown.”

He nodded before turning to his car to head back to campus. He’d decided that he would make more of an effort to spend time with Carla after their conversation a couple weeks ago. It helped that he had begun to feel more comfortable with the grind of college football with his first season more than halfway over.

Or he’d just gotten numb to the exhaustion that the weekly cycle had inflicted on his body.

“Hey, hey! Hold on!” someone shouted just as he was reaching for the door handle.

“Shit,” Devin said under his breath, expecting to get carjacked or otherwise robbed when he turned around. Slowly, he did so and saw a middle-aged man in a suit that was a couple sizes too big all but stumbling out of an older car and tossing a burger wrapper back into it.

Devin exhaled heavily, feeling the relief wash over him.

“You’re Devin, right? Devin King?” the man said, brushing his hands on his suit and holding one out for Devin to shake.

“Yeah?” he asked more than said. “Do I know you?”

“Not yet. I know your grandpa. Name’s Lowell Nash. I represent a few guys in the league and your grandpa said I should reach out to you.”

Devin looked around. “Wait. Have you been following me? How did you know I was here?”

“Social media, kid. I just had to ask around and figure out that your girlfriend went to school here and when I couldn’t find you on Tulane’s campus then I just decided to come over here and see if I’d get lucky and it seemed that I did,” he said then started chuckling and swatted at Devin’s stomach. “But not as lucky as you, huh, champ? Just wait until you get to the league. You think they’re throwing it at you now? It’s crazy in the big time.”

“Whatever. What do you want? It’s late and I need to get back to campus.”

“Big Devin—”

“Big Devin?”

“Your grandpa. He was telling me about your NIL deals. Little mom and pop shop and now a non-profit that’s teaching kids to read? Donating all the money that you make to the organization. You’re building quite the reputation as the good guy football player. I can help you turn that into some serious cash flow coming into your pockets.”

Devin shook his head. “I’m a freshman. I’m not thinking about anything to do with agents or the league. Anything you talked about with my grandpa is between you and him. If I wanted to make money off that shit then I’d be making money off that shit.”

Lowell gestured toward the buildings. “You don’t think that girl of yours wants some pretty things that you can’t buy with the money you saved up from whatever little job you had when you were in high school?”

“I don’t know what kind of deal you thought you had coming up here or whatever, but you’re wasting your time. You can give my grandpa a call and tell him that he can stop wasting his time with all these get rich quick schemes he’s trying to set up for me. I’m not interested in them. I’m sorry that you wasted your time tonight. Hope you have a safe drive back to wherever it is you’re going.”

The man held his hands up and took a couple steps back. “Alright, alright. I hear you, kid. I’m just saying that if you change your mind and want to get this money then shoot me a text or give me a call and I’ll put you in touch with some big players out there. Big Devin has the number.”

“It was nice to meet you,” Devin said as he turned back to his car and opened the door. He glanced over his shoulder to see Lowell Nash walking back to his car, digging into his pocket and pulling out a candy bar.

Devin had half a thought to call his grandpa and give him a piece of his mind about having agents following him around New Orleans but knew that wouldn’t deter the oldest Devin’s attempts to rope his grandson into some kind of money making plan.

Cranking up the car, he sat for a moment and let the heater warm up for a few minutes before backing out of the space and leaving the parking lot.

But he did make a mental note to be more aware of his surroundings before he ended up on the 5 o’clock news as the victim of a carjacking.

-*****-
Caesar sipped the cheap beer that filled the cup in his hand. Dozens of people had sardined themselves into a frat house just off the campus for a Thursday night party and Kaley had talked him into joining her at it.

Even though it was the last place he wanted to be, but it wasn’t like he had anything to get his rest for. Texas A&M would be another “did not play – suspension” on his stat sheet and there was no end in sight to his exile from the team.

Kaley weaved her way through people to stop in front of him. “You really just going to stand here all night?”

“Yep. This is your scene,” he said, sipping the cheap beer.

She took the cup from him, took a glance at the liquid inside of it and downed what was left in the cup then handed him back the empty cup. “That shit is nasty. They always have the worst beer. I’m going to go see if I can find something that tastes better than piss water.”

“Make sure you bring back two drinks,” he said, shaking the cup.

As soon as she turned around, a guy stopped in front of her.

“Fancy running into you here. Thought you would’ve used that studying excuse to get out of coming out again,” he said.

“We’re in the same classes, Marshall. You know how much shit we’re given,” she said, rolling her eyes.

He nodded to the cups in his hands. “I see you aren’t drinking anything so you might as well take one of these and then we can find somewhere a little quieter to talk about that date that I’ve been trying to take you out on for the last month!”

Caesar smacked one of the cups out of the guy’s hand, causing the beer to fall on him, and shoved him away from Kaley.

“Bro, what the fuck?” he asked, looking at his clothes that were now drenched with beer. He looked up and took a step back at first as Caesar towered over him before throwing the cups down to shove Caesar back.

But Caesar pushed his hands aside then grabbed him by the throat. A pair of his friends noticed the commotion and rushed over to help so Caesar shoved Marshall back and put up his fists ready to fight all three of them.

“Hey, stop that shit!” someone shouted from over the banister, drawing everyone’s attention. “All of you get the fuck out and don’t come back.”

Marshall threw his hands up. “C’mon, bro. You saw this fucker started the shit!”

“Fine, you,” the guy on the staircase said, pointing to Caesar. “Get the fuck out.”

“Boo fucking hoo. Shit ass fucking party anyway,” Caesar said. He turned to Kaley. “Let’s go.”

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. “After you just embarrassed me? You can fuck off, Caesar.”

“So, you’re going to stay here and get fucked by him?” Caesar asked, gesturing to Marshall. When she didn’t respond, he waved his hand at her dismissively. “Whatever. You been bitching about that shit for weeks so maybe it’ll do you some good to get the stick out of your ass.”

She looked around at some of the eyes now focused on them before taking a step closer to him. “We’re in fucking public. You might not care what people think about you, but I do. Bite your fucking tongue for once.”

“I’m going to leave. You need to come with me. You got motherfuckers in here bold enough to ask you on dates when I’m standing right there?”

“Not. Now. Caesar.”

He shook his head. “But I’m the one that everyone thinks is going to cheat.”

“Fuck you, asshole,” she snapped before turning her back to him and speaking in hushed tones with her friends.

“Fuck you, too,” he said back as he shoved through the throngs of people and left the house.

He reached into his pocket and fished out a pill to pop in his mouth as he made his way to his car, parked a couple blocks down. He chuckled to himself as he saw someone pulling their car on to the neutral ground despite the restrictions not being lifted. Not only would they likely get it towed before the sun rose, but the high curb was doing a number to the underside of the car.

Maybe, they were just drunk.

As soon as he sat down in the driver’s seat, he heard a knock on the passenger window. Expecting it to be Kaley, he unlocked the door without bothering to look.

Instead, Gia slipped into the car and shut the door behind her.

“You walk fast you know,” she said, holding a pair of heels in her hand.

He looked over at her and pointed to his legs. “Long stride. What the fuck are you doing in my car?”

“I’m just checking on you. I’m always a little scared when someone goes speeding off into the night all pissed off.”

“I’m not pissed.” He leaned over, gesturing to the floor on the passenger side. “Do you want to hand me the bottle that’s under the seat or are you good with me reaching over and getting it myself? You could also just get the fuck out and then I can get it.”

She spread her legs and he reached between them under the seat, staring at her as he did. He came back up with a half full bottle of gin.

He unscrewed the cap and took a swig straight from the bottle. Wiping his mouth, he laughed. “High school me would fuck the shit out of you.”

“It’s a good thing you’re not in high school anymore then, I guess. My offer to listen to your problems without trying to give any advice still stands.”

“How about you shut the fuck up and let me drink until I either black out or have to stop to drive my ass back to campus?” he asked before taking another drink.

Reaching over, she took the bottle from him and took a sip from it as well, making a face as the alcohol burned her throat.

“I’ll sit here, too, then,” she said.

He snatched the bottle back. “Suit yourself.”
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Captain Canada
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War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by Captain Canada » 06 Mar 2022, 13:54

Here we go :curtain:
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Caesar
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War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by Caesar » 10 Mar 2022, 19:48

Gig ‘Em

“Thanks,” Kaley said to the RA who held the door open for her as she dashed through the torrential downpour battering the Crescent City.

She awkwardly tried to close her umbrella without getting water on the floor, but after noticing the water seeping under the door from outside only offered the young man standing next to her a sheepish smile as she yanked it closed.

Unzipping her jacket as she headed toward the elevators, she fished the bag of fast food out of her purse and thanked the Lord himself that her plan to put the purse inside of her jacket had mostly saved it from getting drenched.

That same couldn’t be said for her socks that the rain boots she wore did nothing in protecting.

The smell of rain was replaced by the smell of fried shrimp when she stepped into the elevator. Somewhere around halftime, she’d decided she’d leave the game early and bring Caesar a peace offering after their most recent argument.

She was surprised the building was so quiet. It seemed like more people would have made the decision to leave the game early with the way the rain was coming down. Navigating New Orleans’ flooded streets at night would be a hellscape at best.

With the tell-tale ding, the elevator stopped on the fifth floor and the doors slid open.

-*****-

“It’s raining cats, dogs, pigs, cows, moose, deer, alligators and crawfish here in the Crescent City and frankly I’m surprised that we’re going to play a game of football tonight but we are and the Green Wave and Aggies are out on the field for the opening kickoff. The Green Wave won the toss and elected to defer.”

“Dan, we’re lucky to be close to the field with all these high tech cameras because I doubt anyone in the stands can see through the sheet of rain that’s coming down.”

“The players might not be able to see each other either.”



Devin wiped his hands against his jersey in a futile attempt to feel as if they were something approaching dry, but it only took a few seconds before he felt the urge to do it again – and that wasn’t to mention that his jersey was already soaked through.

In the backfield, the quarterback gestured wildly in an effort to be seen by the receivers on the far side of the field. The adjustments coming from both sidelines were just as over-the-top as something akin to a blind man playing checkers underwater played out on the field.

The quarterback settled back under the center and called for the snap.

Devin’s feet struggled to get purchase in the grass but he did a better job of it as the receiver he was tasked with covering slipped and fell as he tried to plant and turn back to the ball for a quick pass.

Unfortunately, the quarterback was in auto-pilot mode as he reached the end of his drop, turning and throwing it to where he assumed his target would be.

The slick ball slipped out of his hand as he pushed it forward before bouncing against the top of a lineman’s helmet. Heads went up to locate the ball, but the rain stung the eyes of anyone looking to the sky.

Devin ran toward the line of scrimmage, slipping forward more than sprinting, diving as the ball got closer to the ground.

The ball smacked his hands but squirted away and fell harmlessly to the turf before he could bring it in, however.



“After two pitiful attempts at playing football by both teams on their opening drives, you can see the team managers are down there working furiously to change out the studs on the players’ cleats in hopes that it won’t look like this game is being played in a cow pasture.”

“This game should really be called off. I know there isn’t any thunder and lightning but I don’t know how the powers that be can think this is safe for anyone.”



“Dakota Fletcher’s pass is incomplete and the junior from Orange, Texas is zero-for-seven so far. The Aggies are going to have to punt the ball away again. And may need to look to keep the ball on the ground in these conditions.”



“Frazier slogs up the middle for a gain of three and that’s the first forward progress either team has had so far tonight.”



“Reyes rolls out and shovels it to Sam Bendbrook for a short pickup of five.”



“Conrad motions to the left as Reyes calls for the snap. He hands it off to Frazier. Frazier takes it—Wait, Conrad has it up the sideline! The A&M defenders are falling over each other to chase him but the turf has other plans! 40, 30, 20, 10, touchdown Tulane!”

“That looked like a variation of the old Statue of Liberty, Dan. The Green Wave used the elements against A&M with the reverse and it was night night. That’s some damn good playcalling from Denver Shuman and James Harley and a good sell from Darren Reyes.”



“After a long, methodical drive, the Aggies answer Tulane with a touchdown of their own as Kyree Watson takes it in from three yards out!”



“Reyes can’t handle the snap and it’s on the ground! He tries to jump on it but it gets away from him! I think that was White who got to it first, but the referees are going to have to sort out the pile and – they're signaling A&M ball! Jeison White comes away with it and the Aggies are in scoring territory already!”



“Fletcher flicks a pass out to Alvarez and that’s a touchdown for A&M! For the first time since their game with South Carolina and only the second time all season, Tulane find themselves trailing in a game!”

“Who knew it would just take a hurricane to drown out a team called the Green Wave!”



Devin stayed with the receiver, stride for stride, as they both tried to keep from sinking into the rapidly deteriorating field. Devin kept one hand on his back, hoping the referees wouldn’t be able to see the contact with the rain still coming down in sheets.

The receiver’s head whipped around and he came to a sliding stop as he turned back to the line of scrimmage.

Devin found the ball cutting through the torrent of water falling from the sky and decided to start backpedaling up the field. The wideout made a lackluster attempt to jump for it as it sailed over his head, but it fell right into Devin’s hands.

Slipping as he turned around, the receiver tried to grab Devin’s ankles as he ran by only to come up with clumps of mud between his fingers.

Hitting the Tulane sideline, Devin tightened his grip on the ball as if he were carrying his own child. Those on the sideline passed in a blur as they waved him forward and pointed toward the endzone.

An Aggie dove at him, but mis-timed their leap and only succeeded in ending up next to the benches on the Green Wave’s sideline.

He kept running until he could somewhat make out a sliver of orange.

Only to get shoved from behind, sending him sprawling out of bounds despite his best effort to reach for the pylon.



“Frazier takes it up the middle and Tulane are within one pending the extra point!”

“That was all set up by Devin King’s interception. The freshman is really making a name for himself as a ballhawk.”



“Valparaiso slips as he kicks that, but it’s up and good and the Aggies will take a 17-14 lead into halftime and we may be looking at an upset alert situation down on the bayou.”

“I bet Tulane is wishing that they had a big play wide receiver to turn to in the second half of this game to really break things open.”

“We’ll see what adjustments they make as they come out for the third quarter. The Green Wave will be receiving.”



“Reyes throws it more than a few yards for the first time tonight and he finds Kendall Dallas is the endzone for six!”



“Valparaiso slipped in the first half and Neal Cooper just did it as well, but that’s extra point is sailing into the Mississippi River with that trajectory.”

“Can’t pass it, can’t hold it, can’t kick it, can’t see it. This has to be a miserable experience for the players.”

...

“Texas A&M driving here. Three yards and a cloud of mud so far. Fletcher settles in under center at the Green Wave 37 for the 11th play of the drive.”

“Tulane needs to find a way to keep them out of the endzone here on this drive. I don’t like their chances if they keep this back and forth thing going for much longer. Their offense has been unusually bad tonight.”

“Fletcher calls for the snap and puts it in Watson’s gut.”

Devin found himself being caught flat-footed assuming the play would go up the middle again, and ended up on his ass as the receiver shoved him. He got back up quickly, all hands and feet, just in time to see the back bounce it to the outside.

The receiver was there to block again, but Devin was able to get by him – just as the runningback flew by.

Turning up field to give chase, Devin caught up to him just as he tried to juke inside to avoid Marcus. Swinging his arm in a wide arc, Devin brought his fist down on the ball and took the back down with his momentum.

He heard the whistles blowing around him and managed to get his bearings as the referees signaled Tulane ball.

“There’s that kid again, Dan! That’s what you want to see from your corners. He got blown up off the snap and was the one to force the fumble! Take note at home, future corners. Never quit on the play!”

...

“Reyes drops back, almost falls over! But he’s back up scanning the field. He brings it down and takes it himself! He pump fakes – well beyond the line of scrimmage – but it freezes the linebacker and he’s off to the races! 20, 15, 10, touchdown Tulane!”



“Watson’s stacked up in the backfield and the Aggies are going to have to punt.”



“Cooper keeps his footing this time and puts it through the uprights to make it 30-17 Tulane.”



“Panic stations for Texas A&M as this second half has gone from bad to worse with the weather not showing any signs of letting up and now Fletcher is going to have to put the ball in the air if the Aggies have any hope of a comeback.

“He drops back and goes through his reads. The pocket is holding up, but good luck seeing more than 10 yards down the field. He steps up and zips it across the mid—picked off! Who else? Devin King with his second interception of the game!”

“I told you earlier, Dan. That kid has a nose for the ball. And with Christian Vaughn on the other side of him, defenses are going to have to figure out something else to do against this Green Wave secondary because passing isn’t a smart option!”



“Reyes is going to take a knee and swim off the field as Tulane survives to keep their undefeated season alive and likely put their name in the hat for those early College Football Playoff rankings. The final from Yulman Stadium, Tulane 30, Texas A&M 17.

-*****-

Kaley’s car screeched horribly as she pulled it to a stop in the flooded parking lot outside of one of the campus’ residence halls. Driving through the flooded streets probably wasn’t a good idea in retrospect, but it wasn’t the first time she’d done it, and living in New Orleans, it would be the last.

She grabbed a brown paper bag off the seat and stuff it into her purse before putting her jacket on over both. Popping open her umbrella, she hot footed it toward the door but not without the water taking up a home inside of the rain boots she wore.

“Thanks,” Kaley said to the RA who held the door open for her as she dashed through the torrential downpour battering the Crescent City.

She awkwardly tried to close her umbrella without getting water on the floor, but after noticing the water seeping under the door from outside only offered the young man standing next to her a sheepish smile as she yanked it closed.

Unzipping her jacket as she headed toward the elevators, she fished the bag of fast food out of her purse and thanked the Lord himself that her plan to put the purse inside of her jacket had mostly saved it from getting drenched.

That same couldn’t be said for her socks.

The smell of rain was replaced by the smell of fried shrimp when she stepped into the elevator. Somewhere around halftime, she’d decided she’d leave the game early and bring Caesar a peace offering after their most recent argument.

She was surprised the building was so quiet. It seemed like more people would have made the decision to leave the game early with the way the rain was coming down. Navigating New Orleans’ flooded streets at night would be a hellscape at best.

With the tell-tale ding, the elevator stopped on the fifth floor and the doors slid open. She sent Caesar a text to ask him if he was awake as she stepped off the elevator.

The faint sound of music came from his room when she reached the door. She knocked and glanced at her phone but there was no answer on either.

Remembering that he’d once told her that the door wasn’t installed properly and could be jostled open, she grabbed the handle and gave it a few jerks while pushing up on it until it turned and opened slightly.

She stopped in her tracks, greeted with the back of a naked girl. Straddling Caesar in his bed.

Slowly, she stepped back into the hall and pulled the door shut, blowing out a ragged breath. She tossed the bag of food on the floor and headed back to the elevator, rubbing angrily at the tears that threatened to fall.
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djp73
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War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by djp73 » 10 Mar 2022, 22:53

Caesar gonna Caesar...

Think you got some formatting issues there.
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Caesar
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War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by Caesar » 11 Mar 2022, 05:48

djp73 wrote:
10 Mar 2022, 22:53
Think you got some formatting issues there.
I don't see anything wrong. If you're talking about the first part and the last part being the same, I did that on purpose.
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djp73
Posts: 5347
Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 13:42

War of the Roses: Redux Edition

Post by djp73 » 11 Mar 2022, 06:47

Caesar wrote:
11 Mar 2022, 05:48
djp73 wrote:
10 Mar 2022, 22:53
Think you got some formatting issues there.
I don't see anything wrong. If you're talking about the first part and the last part being the same, I did that on purpose.
ah yeah, reread this morning when I wasn't half asleep, makes more sense. good update.
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